Britain congratulates Iraq on retaking IS-held city

London: Philip Hammond, British Foreign Secretary congratulated the government of Iraq on Monday on the hoisting of the Iraqi flag in a city Ramadi, which was once held by the Islamic State(IS).

Iraqi security forces on Monday declared victory over the IS militant group in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western province of Anbar, Xinhua reported.

“This is the latest in a series of significant losses for the IS. These barbaric terrorists have lost 30 percent of the territory they once held in Iraq,” Hammond said Monday in a statement.

The foreign secretary said that IS has been driven out of cities across the country by Iraqi forces, with support from the international coalition.

“We will continue to support the Government of Iraq as it re-establishes the security, governance and services the people of Ramadi will need as they return to their city,” Hammond noted.

“This remains a long fight, but the Coalition’s strategy is succeeding. We will continue to stand with the Iraqi people until IS is defeated,” he added.

Britain has been carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in the middle eastern country since September last year as part of a US-led international coalition. ISIS still holds a lot of places in the country.(IANS)(image: over-blog.com)

Haider al-Abadi issues a statement lifting ban of international flights on international airports. IANS

Iraq lifts the ban on international flights to Kurdish airports

Prime minister, Haider al-Abadi issues a statement

He also talked about security o the airports

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday lifted a ban on international flights to two airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

A statement by his office said Abadi signed a decree to lift the ban after receiving positive response from the Kurdish local authorities “to restore the federal authority in the two airports in accordance with the Constitution of Iraq”.

Abadi made the announcement during his meeting with the officers of the regional Interior Ministry who were working at the two airports, Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying.

He also said that a new security directorate will be established to protect the airports in the Kurdish region and it will be under command and control of the federal Interior Ministry.

All the regional airports and border crossings will be linked directly to the main control system in Baghdad, similar to what is done in the other Iraqi airports and crossing, the statement said.

He also talked about the security of airports.

The passports and national ID offices and the employees at the airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah will also be linked to the federal Interior Ministry, it added.

Tensions rose between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum last September to approve the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas.

The Iraqi government later imposed the flights ban on the Kurdish region as part of a package of punitive measures that also included blocking all the border crossings outside the federal control.

The ban on international flights on the region’s international airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah forced passengers to apply for an Iraqi visa to transit through Baghdad and Basra international airports to go or leave the Kurdish region.

The independence of Kurdistan is opposed not only by the Iraqi central government, but also by other countries as it would threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq and undermine the fight against the terror group Islamic State.

Iraq’s neighbouring countries, especially Turkey, Iran and Syria, fear that the Iraqi Kurds’ pursuit of independence threatens their own territorial integrity by inspiring the Kurdish population in those countries to seek independence. IANS